Saturday, February 20, 2010

3 Year Etsy Anniversary!

My 3 year Etsy Anniversary is two days away, I am amazed at how fast the last 3 years have gone by and how much my life and goals have changed over that time. Watching this date approach has caused me to step back and look at my shop & business and do some serious evaluating of priorities. I am very thankful for the business I have and customer base I have built making my DVD Folio's, however I am not sure it is the direction I want to be focusing my energy. I have been contemplating trimming my customer base and only working with a few photographers so that I have time to be making books again. Walking into my studio no longer brings me feelings of joy and stress relief as it used to. It has actually been a cause of much stress this winter and I think the stress has contributed to my catching several colds this season.I've decided that for the next 2 months I will not be taking any new folio orders as I finish up what I have and start working getting everything in order for April.

March & April will be very busy months for me, that I hope will return my love for my studio. In April I am teaching 5 classes at M.E.C.C.A. and will be part of a Book Arts exhibit they will have in the gallery all month. My goal is to have 2 recycled materials books for the exhibit and a display of my recycled book earrings-plus I will have to get models made and the materials prepped for my classes. Phew, just reading that makes me realize I've got a lot to do!

Hi Karen, The recycled books are mostly in the cover materials, and are mostly leather from my craft reuse center. When I'm teaching at the reuse center we use paper that was donated to them. I've wanted to make my own but I don't have the set up or experience. Cheers, Kiley